The Tucker Phenomenon
by Raven On The Writing Desk
Summary: Chimeras have always been a problem, but not always as much to the general public. However, at the abandoned Tucker home, recent sightings by passersby have been reported of seeing strange, sometimes grotesque amalgamations, all gathering around the home. The Amestrian military can't afford to have a public panic, so something must be done to find why they are gathering there.
1. The Mission

Chimeras were still a huge problem for the Amestrian military. They didn't bother the citizens within the city limits, but on the edges, where the forests and plains butted up against the town, citizen complained of still seeing them occasionally. They weren't attacking, rather they seemed oddly calm, but that didn't put to rest people's fears of attack, and understandably so. A report had also been filed about the abandoned Tucker property. People who passed it complained of seeing a large gathering of chimeras around the old home, and occasionally finding nests or dens. There was concern someone was still there, creating new creatures. In response, and to prevent a public panic, a statement was released to the public, saying that once every three or four months a team of two highly trained military personnel would be dispatched to the location to examine the situation and take a count of the chimeras. However, unless there was clear public danger imminent, the area would otherwise be left in peace, so that the creatures would have a place to live instead of invading the city. This seemed to calm the people for a while, but soon after they demanded the results be released to the public, and so they were. In recent months, the number of counted chimeras was rising steadily, maybe by only one or two, but it still concerned people that they were gathering in greater numbers at that one spot. Another bulletin was released to try to calm the panic, saying the place still had some alchemical energy about it, so it was likely some sort of migration resting point. Still, even at the presence of the military personnel the creatures showed no aggression, and so they would be left in peace.

Come the fifth survey announcement, the team that elected to go check out "The Tucker Phenomenon" was none other than Colonel Roy Mustang and Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. They were to stay at the property a full twelve hours to report on the chimeras, their behaviors, numbers, and to dispatch any aggressive individuals. They were given packs with the basic supplies; an extra hand gun, ammunition, food and water to last a day, medical supplies, and the like. Packed and ready to go, the two made the drive to the abandoned property.

Upon arriving and being able to see the state of the grounds for the first time, there was a faint alchemical residue in the air, that much was immediately felt. Oddly enough, they hadn't yet seen a single chimera, but there were large holes and dens dug and lots of fallen trees, so it was very possible they were all hiding just out of sight and watching the two intruders. Riza steadied her hand and kept to the back to prevent ambush while Roy, ready to snap, no pun intended, took point. They walked slowly, barely picking their feet up off the ground for fear of stepping into a burrow or onto a small creature that would then warn the others. It was eerily silent, nothing made any noise and the house wasn't yet in view, however, once it was, it was, the reason for the silence was instantly obvious.

Where the old Tucker home should have stood, there was a crater, a large, perfectly circular crater, though one that in no way could have naturally occurred nor swallowed the home, yet the home was gone, and only the pit and some smoking debris remained.


	2. Down In A Hole

While it was against their better judgement, the two crept towards the edge of the circular pit, more shuffling as opposed to walking as to avoid stepping into a nest or something else that may anger the hidden chimeras. Coming to the edge, Roy stuck his arm out to stop Riza from walking closer when some dirt from the edges of the pit gave away, and clattered down into the pit without making a sound like it had hit the bottom. The two peered in, and it was black as pitch down below, like gazing into the yawning maw of some giant creature. Not taking his eyes off the pit, he crouched down and scooped up a large rock. He tossed it into the pit, and both inclined their ears, straining to hear the rock hitting the bottom. It felt like hours but was really only a few minutes, before they heard something like shattering glass. Shattering glass? Maybe the house could have been swallowed by the pit, but the pit was so unnaturally and perfectly round, surely it wasn't naturally occurring?

They were startled out of their questioning when a sound came from the bottom of the pit, something inhuman giving a scream sounding like something between a parrot and a dinosaur. Both looked at each other in surprise. The home was gone, and it sounded like down in that hole was where the chimeras seemed to have moved. Even if it wasn't their mission, there was certainly no way chimeras could have made this hole.

Together they returned to their car and drove back to a payphone in the city. With a short phone call Major Armstrong and Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc were on their way with supplies for their superiors. It took about thirty minutes for them to arrive, and another five to ten minutes for the band to return to the pit. Roy and Riza each tied a two hundred foot length of rope around their waists and each had a pack containing an extra gun, ammo, a knife, a handheld flashlight with extra batteries, basic medical supplies, food, and water suitable for three or so days. They both had a headlamp to peel away the darkness of the pit. Major Armstrong and Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc acted as their anchors to slowly lower the other two down the pit, and the two on ropes scrabbled for handholds of roots and rocks and whatever else they could to ease their descent.

The going was slow and the farther down they got the colder and more moist the air around them got. It was only twenty or so feet before neither could see the hand in front of their faces, and flicked on their headlamps. Even then the darkness seemed to thick that the headlamps couldn't banish it. Neither could see the far side of the pit, nor the bottom. It wasn't until they got one hundred feet down or so that they could hear claws scrabbling and glass breaking and rocks being knocked around. Now and again that horrible scream like that of a parrot and a dinosaur came floating up to them. At about one hundred and seventy-nine feet down the pit they could see the creature making the sound; the creature stood on two legs and was about the size of a golden retriever. It was covered in feathers of blue and gold and red and green, and lifted huge pterodactyl-like wings. There were four thick, yellow claws on each hand, and five on its feet. It had a large, curved beak, which it opened and screamed at them, raising its tail feathers around it like a peacock. The creature's mouth was full of sharp teeth, and Riza shot the threatening creature immediately. It leapt into flight desperately, bleeding from its chest, hit the wall of the pit, and fell down to the pit floor; dead. There was a tunnel leading off to the right, and screams similar to the one of the dead creature floated to them. They braced themselves for the swarm, but it never came, and once again the pit was as silent as the grave.

At the end of their ropes they were still a few feet off the ground, but it wasn't that far of a drop. They untied themselves and dropped down, glass crunching beneath their boots. Both inclined their ears for more sound, but there were none. Riza took point, the moist air in the pit making it difficult for the Colonel to get a spark going at a moment's notice. They walked down the branching path at the right for what felt like another eternity, but they came to a cavern, and their jaws dropped.

The Tucker home was here, but it looked like it had been taken apart and reassembled with stones and dirt and sticks into a Taj Mahal-style home. There were a dozen or more nests like what a bald eagle would build, and each nest had three or four more of the creatures like the one Riza had shot. Flocks of six flew in and out of large holes in the walls and the roof, some screamed now and again but none came towards them nor seemed to notice their presence. Here and there were creatures that looked like lions with the wings of a goose, though in a lion's proportion. They prowled in packs or chased herds of deer-turkeys; creatures the size of deer with antlers, feathers, clawed hooves, and beaks. All the sudden from over their head there was a rush of wind and in swooped vulture-wolves. They flew in a pack, huge black wings flapping now and again, ears pressed back against the wind. They had legs like a vulture and thick beaks and huge tail feathers. They swooped in through some of the larger holes, and when they did every chimera looked to the home and started walking towards the broken steps leading to the front door. That's when a sudden blood-chilling thought entered both their brains; this was no migration point. Something in the house was amassing an army.


	3. The Girl With The Lion's Tail

Roy and Risa waited until they were sure every last one of those creatures had disappeared into the house and everything was silent before proceeding. Very slowly, ears primed to every little sound, they shuffled to the broken front steps. The door was covered in holes and scratch marks and was just barely hanging onto the hinges. The alchemical power was nearly palpable in the air, and both of them peered in through the holes in the door, but there were no creatures in sight. Slowly, they slipped into the house, careful not to touch the ajar door, in case it would fall off its hinges. The walls were torn apart and streaked with blood and claw marks, and there were more nests on the floor made of library books and sticks and pieces of fabric, but thankfully they were empty. Next they headed to the staircase, and Roy, who had since retaken point, threw his arm out to stop Riza before she could take a step up. There was a faint sound of buzzing, and both looked around carefully before Riza pointed at the ceiling atop the staircase landing.

The ceiling was dotted with large, hole-filled lumps of a hard, murky brown substance mixed with fur, bones, paper, glass, and rocks. Fluttering about were wasps as large and almost as fast as hummingbirds! The creatures hadn't noticed them and just kept on about their work of drilling new holes or taking unwanted things out of their weird hives. There were easily thirty of the things moving as a unit to do some task. Slowly, Roy took one step up on the rickety wood, and it groaned beneath his boots, but the creatures still paid him no mind. So, one by one, the two started climbing the staircase, ducking as low as they could to avoid the weird chimeras. The chimeras, in true wasp fashion, didn't bother the soldiers because the soldiers didn't bother them. The steps groaned and wailed with even the slightest pressure, and the pair would always stop and listen for any indication something had become angry, but there was never any change from the low buzzing that filled their ears. They came ever so slowly to the landing, and saw that there were more of those hives on the walls as well as the ceiling, but they were silent and still. About ten feet in front of them there was another door; the only structure that appeared to have been left untouched by the chimeras that inhabited the old home. The door was cracked open, and so they crept closer until they could peer through the door.

It appeared it had been the master bedroom at one time, seeing as there was a large king-size bed in the corner, but it was torn apart and springs were showing and it was splattered with blood and dirt. Their eyes travelled up to the ceiling and Riza had to stifle a gasp; they hadn't heard it at first, but the entire ceiling was absolutely covered in the wasp creatures from the stairwell. They blanketed the ceiling, buzzing and crawling as if the very ceiling was alive. Their eyes kept wandering and they could see flocks of the parrot creatures resting around the room in groups of ten, in groups of two or three there were the wolves, and far on the other end stood a pack of the deer types, who looked right at the soldiers, ears flicking now and again. It hadn't been clear before, but these deer had mesmerizing golden eyes.

Neither had noticed it at first, due to how natural it looked, but in the middle of the room was a throne-type chair adorned with feathers and pelts and bits of precious metals. Sitting in it, with legs crossed daintily, arms on the armrests, head bowed, was a young female who appeared to be in her twenties, and her skin was as pale as silk-covered bones. Laying across her lap was a thin tail, like that on a lion, but it was silver and the tuft was black. Around her shoulders and covering her body was a pelt that had the same silver and black color scheme. The man around her neck was black and the fur that covered her seemingly dead body was a shiny silver. It was sad for a moment that anyone would have died down in this hole. She probably hadn't died long ago either. Her skin was untouched by the claws and teeth of the creatures, and the pelt hadn't been dissected by the wasps for their hives. If they could sneak her remains out of the hole perhaps they could give her a proper and respectful burial, but two against a room of chimeras was a death wish.

It was silently agreed between them that the best course of action would be to leave this dark, stinking hole and motion that the hole quickly be filled before the chimeras started getting back out. Just then, they could see the nose of the female wrinkle, as if her senses had been assaulted with a foul smell, and then she opened her eyes. They were the same deep, rich gold as the deer, and when she raised her head, the eyes of every chimera opened too. The wasps on the ceiling in the room started slowing, and the ones above the stairs did too. The two had turned around to look at the creatures on the stairs, and when they turned back to peer through the door it was a blood-chilling sight.

The women had raised her head and was staring directly at them. All the chimeras had also turned golden gazes to the soldiers, and the room was as still as if they were looking at a photograph. Neither noticed at first but the buzzing had suddenly picked back up and was becoming a wall of sound about to crash over them. They had been spotted, and the eyes of the girl with the lion's tail glittered with murderous anger.


End file.
